Vladimir Putin is “afraid to use nuclear weapons” because he loves his life and controlling the lives of others, Volodymyr Zelensky has said.
The Russian President said last on 25 September that he was changing Russia’s “nuclear doctrine,” possibly expanding the circumstances under which such devastating weapons could be used.
But Zelensky said he does not think Putin would risk using nuclear weapons, in an interview with Fox News.
The Ukrainian leader said: “Nobody knows what’s in his (Putin’s) head really. He could use nuclear (weapons) on any country at any time. Or not.
Vladimir Putin speaks at the Security Council meeting on nuclear deterrence in Moscow on September 25. The Kremlin has threatened to use nuclear weapons multiple times since the start of the full-scale Russia-Ukraine war.
AP
“I’m not sure that he will. I am sharing with you what I think. But I am not Putin, God bless. I cannot know exactly. Because he is not always adequate. Because any adequate person cannot just come to Ukraine and do what he did.”
Zelensky added: “He loves his life and his way of life and how he is managing the life of others, I can tell—he has to be afraid to use nuclear weapons.”
Since the start of the full-scale Russia-Ukraine war, the Kremlin has repeatedly invoked the threat of nuclear warfare. As recently as Saturday Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov told Washington to prepare Europe for a “suicide venture” because of the “pointlessness and danger of the very idea to fight to victory with a nuclear power like Russia.”
When Putin announced a new version of his nuclear doctrine at Russia’s Security Council last week, he said it proposes “to consider aggression against Russia by any nonnuclear state, but with the participation or support of a nuclear state, as their joint attack on the Russian Federation.”
While he did not name any countries, this was widely understood to be directed at Ukraine—a nonnuclear state that receives support from the U.S. and other nuclear powers.
Putin also said that Moscow would consider using nuclear weapons if it detected a major launch of missiles, aircraft or drones against it.
Ukraine has been pushing for the U.S. and the U.K. to drop their prohibition on the use of American ATACMS (Army Tactical Missile Systems) and British Storm Shadow missiles to target Russian territory amid concerns that this would escalate the conflict.
Kyiv says it needs the long-range weapons to target air bases used by Russia’s warplanes that launch glide bombs against Ukraine, often from deep inside Russian territory.
In an interview with The Times earlier this month, NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg said that while “these are decisions for individual allies to make…it’s wrong to say that NATO allies would be a party to the conflict if they allow the weapons to be used against legitimate targets on Russian territory.”
He added: “North Korea and Iran are providing significant military support and providing missiles, drones to Russia without them becoming a direct party to the conflict.”
Spokesman for the European Union, Peter Stano, responded to Putin’s most recent threats, calling them a continuation of “very irresponsible and unacceptable behavior,” adding that Putin is “gambling with his nuclear arms.”
Newsweek has contacted the Russian Defense Ministry via email for comment.
